A response to Mike Pence’s claim that ‘Mulan’ is liberal propaganda

Pence wrote the op-ed before he ran for Congress and when he served as a radio talk show host

This project doesn’t often indulge in politics, but Mike Pence’s 1999 claim that Mulan is liberal propaganda, spun out of nowhere — recently surfaced, due to his nomination as the US Republican Vice Presidential nominee — requires a learned response.

China has had martial heroines longer than almost anywhere on earth. Mulan may have been largely myth, but to suggest it’s made-up propaganda is utter lunacy. There’s a LOT of martial heroines who were just as hardcore as Mulan:

It’s entirely possible Pence has since evolved his views (one would hope, this is an old claim!) – but regardless, outrageous claims like these deserve to be met with knowledge and facts when they arise.

(fair warning: I haven’t done extensive research into all of these women; legend and history tend to intermingle when you go back too far, so the historicity of a few may be in question.)